Newsletter Vol. 2 # 8 – October 27, 2002

Welcome to the latest issue of Guitar Noise News.

In This Issue

News and Announcements
New Lessons and Articles
Email of the Week
Things To Do People To See
Sunday Songwriters Group
Reviews
Hot Forum Topic
Thoughts and Feedback

News And Announcements

“You knew the job was dangerous when you took it!” is, of course, what the cartoon superhero, Super Chicken, would say to his sidekick, Fred, whenever the going got tough (at least once per episode).

Kudos to Sheryl, to Wes, to Sylvia, who has a dog named Fred, and to David (not me), who admits to “yearning for a little Super Sauce for years!” Don’t we all, my friend…

No, you haven’t entered the Twilight Zone! Welcome to Guitar Noise News!

One thing that I’m learning, as I take on more and more duties here, there’s always a lot of little things going on within the site. Sometimes it’s only a slight rippling in the background, but it’s these small things that can really add to the enjoyment of the whole Guitar Noise experience.

Two things I’d like to point out to you this week:

First, Paul is experimenting with a “direct to forum” discussion link. Last week’s Intermediate lesson (“Fields of Gold”) included a link that led directly to a forum-style discussion page. Several people (myself included!) took advantage of this to leave some thoughts and notes on the lesson. I think that Paul would like some feedback on whether or not this is (a) a good tool and (b) should be used on more lessons. Please let me know what you think of this.

Second, for those who’ve never “met” him, let me formally introduce Darrin Koltow. Darrin is Guitar Noise’s official “copy editor.” He helps me to finish articles, lessons and reviews and make everything as presentable as possible. He also is helping me go (slowly) through the old lessons as we take an eye to correcting past mistakes (grammatical and other). In addition to this, he also writes articles for us. AND he has his own website! It’s called Maximum Musician and you can find out more about it in our Affiliate Links section a little further down. If you do nothing else, I wholehearted recommend you sign up for Darrin’s newsletter. It comes out every Wednesday and usually is a complete lesson in and of itself.

Don’t forget we’re accepting submissions from everyone for our November/December topic, “The Joy of Guitar (and music in general).” Take the time to share what music has done for you and others. I’m truly looking forward to sharing these fantastic stories with all of you. Send yours to Dan Lasley, Darrin Koltow or myself.

Onward…

New Lessons And Articles

A new writer! Hans Fahling’s October lesson! And Darrin and I team up to give you a couple quick tips on adding to your chord vocabulary. Talking about finishing off the month with a bang! Here’s what’s gone online since we last chatted:

Choosing A Teacher
by Tom Hess

Please join me in welcoming Tom Hess to Guitar Noise. Tom is the founder of the band, “Hess,” a four-piece instrumental guitar group that makes absolutely incredible music. Tom is also a guitar teacher and has been kind enough to give us some very valuable tips on how to find the best possible teacher for you.

Jazz Comping Part 4 – More Revelations On Extensions
by Hans Fahling

Hans guides us a step beyond – bringing 13ths and minor seventh/flat five and other compound voicings (more than one extension) to our ever-expanding jazz studies. A lot of really cool sounding chords here and, as always, Hans makes learning easy and entertaining.

Sevens, Threes And Nines
by Darrin Koltow and David Hodge

This started out as a simple “Guitar Tip.” Think of it as bringing the sound of blues or jazz to the very beginner. You’ll be surprised at how some very simple changes will make a great difference to your sound.

Email Of The Week

This week let me share some information I got on last week’s Intermediates’ Lesson:

Hey David –

Just wanted to let you know about the pipe sound you hear on Sting’s version of “Fields of Gold.” They are Northumbrian Pipes, which are a species of bagpipe. The air for the pipes comes from the bellows placed under the player’s elbow. The Irish version of this instrument is called the uilleann pipes, “elbow pipes.” This is what the leader of the Chieftans plays. Here’s a link showing the instrument.

The same webpage has a picture of Kathryn Tickell playing them – she is the person who plays the pipe part in “Fields of Gold.” Incidentally, it is also the same instrument (and player) that starts off Sting’s previous record, “The Soul Cages.” More that you want to know, I’m sure…

Things To Do – People To See

HEY!!! Are YOU or YOUR BAND playing sometime in November? December’s not that far away either! Let me know and I’ll be happy to pass the word along. Guitar Noise is read by people all over the world, so who knows? You might find yourself meeting someone and you’ll have something in common already.

This week:

It busy, busy, busy for Hans Fahling – Tonight he’s the featured composer at “Jazz Composer’s Night” at Schlot, Kastanienallee 29, Berlin-Mitte. He’s also playing with his quartet Friday night, November 1st at B-Flat, Rosenthalestr., Berlin-Mitte. at 10PM and he finishes the week with a solo performance Sunday, November 3rd at TeeTeaThe in Berlin (Goltzstr.2) from 11:00AM until 2:30.

The Sheryl Bailey 3 is probably performing as you read this! Join her for Sunday Brunch (11:30AM to 3:30) on today, October 27th at the Blue Water Grill (Union Square West).

Sunday Songwriters Group

The second week of Guitar Noise’s Sunday Songwriters Group may have surpassed the first. If you haven’t yet checked out this new “club,” I urge you to drop on in.

We get a little seasonal this week with an assignment designed to work on the use of imagery –

Write a song lyric of any style with a “spooky” or “ghost story” theme (or anything that can be loosely connected with Halloween). Try to use ten to fifteen imagery words (words that convey your theme) in your song. This may seem like a lot, but in a typical three verse song, that’s only three or four words per verse (got to save some for the chorus and bridge, you know). If you find it a challenge may find it a challenge to start the assignment, it may help to make a list of imagery words first. Then draw on your list as necessary.

Good luck and I’m looking forward to reading these.

Reviews

A-J Charron brings us word on two great new CDs – Echo Mutt’s Virtual Chew Toy and the latest from Threshold, Critical Mass. And both CDs sound like they earned a permanent place in our reviewer’s CD player!

Hot Forum Topic

Beginners’ Q&A Forum

WAY TOO HARD?

This started out as a general comment/question on whether the lessons on Guitar Noise were too hard for some beginners. During the course of the week, it’s become an incredibly interesting exchange of ideas – not only on the lessons, but also on teachers, students, and the whole process of learning. Each new post brings in some wonderful new ideas. This is a great example of how supportive a forum page can be.

Join in on this fascinating discussion in the Guitar Noise forums.

Thoughts and Feedback

It’s actually Friday morning as I write this and I’m in a bit of a panic because Paul has written to tell me all the lessons have gone up without a hitch, but there is one slight problem…no newsletter from me!

Oops.

So… here we are again. I know this is starting to sound old, but my thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write your thoughts, suggestions and concerns regarding Guitar Noise and the work that we all do here.

My apologies for making this section shorter than usual – let me simply note that next week we’re going to have another new section that I think most of you will find both enlightening and informative. I’ll give you a clue: it has to do with your guitar. Really. The physical aspects of it.

Also, I’d like to spend the remaining weeks of this year discussing the upcoming year – 2003. As some of you may have gathered, there are many projects and ideas I’d like to pursue. But I do not want to be taking this trip myself. Guitar Noise has become what it is because we’ve all traveled together. And I see us going to some pretty wild places in the future.

I’ll see you next week.

As always,

Peace

David